Polar bears and warming decision delayed

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A U.S. decision on whether global warming threatens polar bears will be delayed as much as a month, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service said on Monday, prompting ire from environmental groups.
The deadline for deciding whether to list the big white bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act is Wednesday but a government statement said analysis of scientific data and public comment will take more time.

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. decision on whether global
warming threatens polar bears will be delayed as much as a
month, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service said on Monday,
prompting ire from environmental groups.

The deadline for deciding whether to list the big white
bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act is
Wednesday but a government statement said analysis of
scientific data and public comment will take more time.

"We expect to provide a final recommendation to the
Secretary of the Interior and finalize the decision within the
next month," the statement said.

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A key piece of data under consideration is a September
report from the U.S. Geological Survey that predicted polar
bears could disappear from places where Arctic sea ice is
melting fastest, including the northern coast of Alaska.

Two-thirds of the world's polar bears could be gone by 2050
if predictions about melting sea ice hold true, the report
said. The ice is melting at least in part because of
human-caused climate change, scientists have said.

Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform for hunting
seals, and without it, the bears could be forced onto land,
where they are inefficient hunters.

Within minutes of the government's announcement of the
delay, environmental groups vowed to sue to enforce the
deadline in the polar bear case.

"The Bush administration has squandered seven years denying
the devastating scientific evidence of global warming," Kert
Davies of Greenpeace USA said in a statement. "Stalling has
cost us dearly, putting the polar bear at risk of extinction
and jeopardizing the future welfare of billions of people
around the world."

Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the
Center for Biological Diversity said in a joint statement they
plan to start the legal process on Wednesday with a formal
notice to sue, as required under the Endangered Species Act.